Blood and faith
by Shannanigans
Summary: Post episode 100. I felt the need to wrap one piece of the storyline up a bit. Please read and review! Limp!Sam, back-with-a-vengeance-big-bro-Dean!


**I have no beta and wrote this pretty quickly. Please forgive errors, but let me know of any you see. Thanks so much!**

**SET IMMEDIATELY AFTER EPISODE 100 (How awesome was this eppy?!)**

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Finally, they felt like brothers again. Dean accepting Sam, accepting Dean. After the apology from Dean, the boys continued to drive down the dark roads heading to parts unknown.

They stopped at an all-night diner off of the interstate, Sam stopping in the shop area first to buy some aspirin. He settled into the booth across from Dean and grabbed the menu.

"Funny, I don't feel like a burger tonight." Laughed Dean, referencing the pile of burgers in the "fancy room".

"Yeah, well, I think I am gonna go with something low-key. Chicken sandwich, maybe" sighed Sam.

They placed their orders with the waitress, Sam getting his chicken sandwich, while Dean ordered the meatloaf.

Dean looked at Sam through skeptical eyes, "How ya feeling Sammy?"

Sam smiled at his big brother, back in protective mode. He didn't mind, really. "Uh, I'm okay. I just feel weird. Tired, but I'll bet you are too."

"Yeah, after we eat, let's find a motel and get a good night's sleep. You were tossed around by Zachariah like a rag doll. I'll bet you're getting sore."

Sam smiled, he felt like he had "his" Dean back again. This Dean cared for and trusted him. "I could definitely use some sleep. Hopefully this place has a motel nearby." Sam popped two aspirin out of the container and swallowed them down with his water.

They finished their dinners and asked the waitress about motels. They were directed to the "Dream'Inn" two more exits down the interstate.

SPN**SPN**SPN**SPN**SPN

Dean checked in. Sam grabbed the bags and headed into the room. It wasn't bad for a motel room. The walls were blue with fluffy clouds painted along the tops. The bedspreads were also a pleasant, baby blue with large, white pillows. Best of all, the bathroom had a large tub; you could say it was even "Sam-sized". Dean plopped down on his bed and started flipping through the television channels. Sam decided to take advantage of the large tub and told Dean he was going to have a soak.

In addition to the large tub, the bathroom had huge, fluffy, white towels and fizzy bath-salt things on the counter. Sam looked around and noticed there were two light switches. He flipped the other one and gave a small chuckle as he peeked up to the ceiling and saw the "sparkling stars" effect from the switch. He decided to go with it, turning off the main light. Sam plugged the tub, ran warm water and even plopped a few fizzy bath-salts in. He undressed, hissing as his bruises made themselves known. He grabbed another two aspirin and a couple of antacids, he felt like he had a case of heartburn. _Hmm, guess that chicken sandwich was a bit spicy_, Sam thought. Lowering himself into the tub, Sam sighed. He leaned his head back and looked up at the "stars".

Dean watched another episode of "Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe" and laughed. "Dude, if he thinks that's dirty? He should really come and work with us for a few days." Clicking off the television, Dean realized that Sam had been in the bathroom for about an hour. He was a bit concerned, as Sammy had been roughed up quite a bit earlier. "Sam?" Dean knocked on the bathroom door. Nothing. "Sammy? You okay in there?" he knocked louder. Thankfully, the next sound he heard was a sudden splash and a "huh?" from Sam.

Sam was surprised by the sudden knock on the bathroom door. He had fallen asleep in the warm tub under the stars. "Huh? Oh, sorry Dean. I musta fallen 'sleep in here! I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay dude, just don't drown in there!" Dean laughed. He pulled Sam's blankets down and put a glass of water and two aspirin by the bed. He knew his brother was tired and hurting.

Sam emerged from the bathroom in sweatpants and a t-shirt with wet hair and rubbing his eyes like a tired toddler. Yawning, he sat on his bed and crawled under the covers, half-asleep already.

"Do you need some more aspirin, Sam?" Dean asked wanting to catch Sam before he fell asleep.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." Sam yawned, grabbing the pills and swallowing them with water before slumping into the large pile of soft pillows at the head of the bed. He was asleep in seconds.

Dean turned down the lights and turned off the TV. He headed into the bathroom for a hot shower, feeling pretty tired himself. After his shower, he dressed in clean boxers and a t-shirt, then walked out of the bathroom to see Sam sleeping deeply and contentedly. Dean followed suit, pretty impressed with this motel's comfortable bedding.

SPN**SPN**SPN**SPN**SPN

Somewhere in his deep sleep, Dean registered that Sam was coughing. It didn't alarm him, so he kept right on sleeping. He did, however, wake up with a start when he heard a weak "Dean?" coming from the other bed.

"Hmm. Ugh. Sam? You okay?" Dean grunted, half out-of-it.

"No" Sam coughed. "I don't think I am okay."

Dean was wide awake with that comment. He felt through the dark for the lamp on the bed stand. Once he had managed to turn it on, he squinted through the brightness for his brother. What he saw next, terrified him. There was Sam, lying in his super-soft, comfy motel bed, on piles of fluffy, white pillows… covered in blood. Blood was coming from Sam's mouth. Dean remembered the coughing he had heard in his sleep.

"Sammy? My god! What the hell happened?" Dean was sitting on the edge of Sam's bed in an instant.

"Uh, oh god, Dean. Look out." Sam stumbled over his words before sitting up and vomiting in his comforter-covered lap. Only this wasn't just his chicken sandwich dinner, he was puking. All Dean could see was Sam… vomiting blood. Next Sam decided to take things to the next level, his eyes rolling back into his head and passing out back into the pillows.

"Sam? Sammy?" Dean screamed. He could see that Sam was breathing, he could feel a strong pulse, but he knew that this was definitely not okay. Dean reached for his cell phone and called 911.

Everything that came next happened in a bit of a blur. Dean made sure the motel door was unlocked and grabbed a pair of pants for himself as well as a jacket. He didn't bother to dress Sam; he was too busy making sure Sam was still alive until help came.

The EMT's rushed in and assessed Sam. They asked Dean about Sam's health, drug and alcohol use and lots of other things Dean couldn't remember. Sam remained unconscious, with a thin stream of blood pouring from his mouth. They put an oxygen mask on Sam and put him on the stretcher. Dean couldn't help but notice his little brother's feet hanging over the edge. He smiled sadly at how young, yet how large Sam looked on that stretcher.

Luckily, the doctors at the small town hospital let Dean hang around as long as they could. "Mr. West", a doctor appeared in front of Dean, "does your brother have a history of bleeding ulcers?"

"Um, not that I know of, but Sam was in a minor car accident yesterday, can that have something to do with this?" Dean lied, knowing he needed to explain the bruising on Sam's body, but also remembering Zachariah's sick pleasure at making Sam and Adam bleed internally. Maybe Sam wasn't fixed when he had killed the angel?

"Perhaps", said the doctor. "What kind of pain reliever was Sam taking for pain?"

"Aspirin." Dean replied with certainty. He could be truthful about this one thing.

"Mr. West, we need to run some tests on your brother. You can wait in the waiting room and we will come find you as soon as we know anything."

"Can't I stay with him?" Dean pleaded.

The doctor shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry sir, but your brother is very ill. We need to take him for x-rays and other tests. Patients only, in those areas."

Dean nodded, "I understand doc, please just take good care of him. We've recently spent some time… apart but are now back on track. He's the only family I have." Dean couldn't help himself from feeling like he just got Sammy back again, that they were once again a team.

The doctor smiled sadly, nodded and hurried back to Radiology.

SPN**SPN**SPN**SPN**

Dean hadn't been waiting long, when the same kind doctor returned to speak with him. "Mr. West, we've figured out what is going on with your brother. Sam has a bleeding ulcer that requires immediate surgery. Do we have your consent?"

"Surgery? My god, is that completely necessary?" Dean was shocked.

"Sir, your brother has lost a lot of blood. He is critical. We need to get him to surgery now. We believe the car accident and subsequent aspirin-use aggravated an ulcer, causing hemorrhaging. We have little time to waste, he needs surgery to survive. He is bleeding to death." The doctor felt bad for being so blunt, but he knew that this man needed this type of explanation. Straight and to the point.

"Do it." Dean said with certainty.

"I'll be there the whole time, Mr. West. I'll keep you updated on Sam's status."

"Doc? Call me Dean."

The doctor smiled. "Dean, call me John. I'll see you soon."

John left, heading into surgery. Dean found himself breathing too quickly. He sat down in the waiting room. He laughed joylessly at the irony. He thought to himself that _John would take could care of his Sammy. He just had to._

SPN**SPN**SPN**SPN

Dean awoke with a start; there was a hand on his shoulder. He realized that it was the morning and John was waking him to tell him about Sam's surgery. _Dammit, he hadn't meant to fall asleep!_

"Sam?" Dean asked, sounding shaky.

John smiled. "Dean, Sam came through his surgery well. We didn't have any additional problems. We will be moving him to the ICU shortly. He'll be getting some blood transfusions, but other than that he should recover completely."

Dean let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "When can I see him?"

"You can head up to ICU now; Sam should be getting settled as we speak." John was happy to relay good news to Dean.

"Thanks John." Dean said sincerely. "Really… thanks."

"Don't mention it. You just take care of that brother of yours. Oh, and keep him away from the aspirin, okay?"

"Will do, doc." Dean watched the doctor go then headed straight for the ICU.

SPN**SPN**SPN**SPN

_Sam looked much better this time around_, Dean thought. _At least he isn't covered in blood. _In fact, the only visible sign of blood in the room was snaking through an IV tube into Sam's arm. Sam's head was facing away from Dean, toward the window. He was deeply asleep, but color had returned to his face. Dean settled into the nearby chair, held Sam's hand and waited.

About two hours later, Dean was greeted with soft moans coming from Sam. He began to turn his head from side to side. Dean stood next to Sam and spoke gently. "Sammy? Come on dude, wake up for me." Sam's head turned toward Dean and his eyes opened slowly and clumsily.

"Mmmmhmmm. De'?" Sam's forehead was scrunched up and he frowned.

"You doing okay Sammy? You just got out of surgery, man. You gave me a scare. A real blood bath, Sammy."

Sam's eyes began to tear up. He started to moan louder and grabbed Dean's hand. "Hurts, De'"

"No problem, bud. I'll call the nurse." Dean pushed the button and for good measure went to wait by the door.

"Can I help you?", a pretty, brunette nurse entered Sam's room.

"Yeah, my brother. He just woke up and he is in pain. Can you help him?" Dean spoke quickly and straight to the point.

"Of course, the doctor ordered up some morphine for post-op pain. Just a moment." She left only to return moments later.

Dean returned to Sam's bedside and grabbed his brother's hand. "Hear that Sam? She's gonna take good care of you. You're gonna get the good stuff, man."

Sam looked at Dean with blurry pain-filled eyes. "'K."

The nurse grabbed Sam's IV and pushed the morphine into the line. Sam relaxed almost immediately. "That should take care of things for a while. I'll check back in with you soon."

Dean watched the nurse leave and returned to his post. Suddenly Sam's eyes popped open and he began to breathe harshly. "Sam?" Dean grabbed the button once more. "Hey! I need help in here!"

Sam grabbed Dean's hand with his right hand and brought his left hand to his chest. He was hyperventilating. "De'… chest hurt… help! Help De'!" Sam arched off of the hospital bed and began writhing.

Dean tried to hold Sam still as he screamed for help. The nurse ran back into the room, followed by John. "What's happening here?" John asked urgently.

"He just had the morphine and then suddenly he was having chest pains. God, help him John! Is he havin' a heart attack?" Dean couldn't stand the screaming and thrashing coming from Sam.

John checked Sam's vitals. "Dean, Sam is having a bad reaction to the morphine. It is pretty rare, but can happen. I'm going to give him something else for pain and to calm him. Just hang in there."

John left for a moment, Dean stared helplessly at Sam who was clutching his chest and screaming for Dean to help him. Dean continued to hold Sam steady and tried to get him to slow his breathing. "Sammy. Sam! Look at me. Look at my eyes. You have to calm down; you have to slow your breathing." Dean exaggeratedly took a breath through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. "Come on Sam. Do this with me. In and out. Slow down Sam. In and out." He grabbed the sides of Sam's face and looked at him eye to eye. "Sammy, do this for me. Come on buddy, in and out. Slow down, that's it."

John returned with a syringe and plunged it immediately into Sam's IV. Still holding Dean's hands, Sam slowly sunk back into the hospital bed. His breathing slowed and he nodded to Dean before closing his eyes.

Dean couldn't hold back. "Jesus Christ, John! What the hell?!"

"Dean, I know that was scary, but everything is okay. This new medicine is going to take care of the pain and Sam is resting comfortably now. You and Sam will need to remember this bad reaction. It can happen again. He should avoid morphine if possible. There is no real rhyme or reason for why this occurred, but sometimes people can have this kind of reaction. Sam is okay now. I promise."

Dean melted into the chair beside Sam and returned to holding his brother's hand. He needed to remind himself now to slow down his breathing. _Sam was okay now._

SPN**SPN**SPN**SPN

Sam had no memory of the morphine incident, which suited Dean just fine. By the following day he was sitting up and eating.

Dean sighed and cleared his throat. "Sam, I owe you an apology."

"'scuse me? Didn't we already do this in the car?" Sam looked with curiosity toward his big brother."

"I should've made sure that Zachariah had fixed you before I killed him. This was my fault." Dean looked down.

"You're kidding right?" Sam smiled. "Dean, you had no way of knowing that I had a bleeding ulcer. Hell, I might've even had this thing before Zack. I'm okay now."

"Well, I still should've known. I also shouldn't have force fed you aspirin, either."

"Dude, I bought the aspirin. I should've remembered how many I had taken. I was just tired and in pain. This was not your fault. Really Dean." Sam searched Dean's face for eye-contact. When Dean looked up into his eyes, Sam's eyes conveyed complete trust and faith.

Dean cleared his throat and spoke brokenly; "It's you and me man, you and me against the world. I can't… NO… I don't want to… do this alone. Now, I'm pretty sure that at this point, neither one of us are gonna be dyin' – well, this week anyway. But just… don't do somethin' like this again. Okay? When I saw you lying on that motel bed, covered in blood…"

"Dean." Sam grabbed Dean's hand. "I got it. I hear ya. Never again." Sam knew this was a promise he couldn't guarantee, but right now he meant every word.

SPN**SPN**SPN**SPN

Sam recovered completely, fairly quickly. He and Dean were back on the road by the following week. Dean wasn't quite ready to let Sam out of his sight yet, but Sam was okay with that. He knew that Dean had faith in him. He also knew that his faith in Dean was stronger than ever.

*******

**The whole morphine reaction thing happened to me when I broke my ankle. It was terrifying. I was clutching my chest staring at my twin thinking I was going to die. I never told her this though. Thank God I was fine, but I now have to remember to mention my morphine "sensitivity" (what a gentle word for such a painful reaction!) if I go to the hospital. Bear in mind though, I am NOT a medical professional. Errors are my own.**

**Please review. I am learning and feeling my through fan-fiction. I enjoy reading all of your stories so much; I hope that mine will keep getting better with time.**

**Thanks! ~Shannon **


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